What porn taught us about sex, romance and ourselves

For a generation that went through puberty in the digital age, sex-ed often began in front of a desktop. But what happens when porn is your teacher? By Tyler Griffin Whenever eight-year-old Gabrielle Clarke watched Rihanna or Christina Aguilera music videos on YouTube, she would get an intense feeling of desire she couldn’t explain. She …

Where Sex Education Fails, Technology Can Help

The Juicebox app connects people with sex coaches to get their questions answered—anonymously. By Sydney Worth One day last year, Evan Conaway realized he had a problem. He’d been through a series of breakups in a short span of time, and the ensuing stress manifested with the onset of erectile dysfunction. He didn’t know what …

What’s So ‘Indecent’ About Female Pleasure?

A consumer technology innovation award was revoked from a company that makes a hands-free sex toy. The reason, some believe, is that the product is made for women. By Valeriya Safronova A personal massager, a sperm counter, virtual-reality pornography, something described as “the world’s first ebook-driven sex toy”: All of these products have been exhibited …

Queering sex education in schools would benefit all pupils

All power to the pupil activists drawing attention to the lack of information about LGBT issues in sex education in England By Kennedy Walker All I remember from my relationship and sex education in school is phallic objects, condoms and everyone being terrified of pregnancy. Looking back it’s clear how disjointed and inadequate this was …

Why Tumblr’s ban on adult content is bad for LGBTQ youth

By Stefanie Duguay As of Dec. 17, Tumblr will no longer allow “adult content,” defined as that which shows “real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples, and any content — including photos, videos, GIFs and illustrations — that depicts sex acts.” Before this, the platform’s lenient policies contrasted significantly with those of Facebook and Instagram, which …

Drugs and alcohol complicate sexual consent,

but context can make things clearer By Alex Aldridge and Adam Winstock Sexual consent is an important, complex and often awkward topic to talk about. And when people have been consuming alcohol or other drugs, it makes negotiating sexual consent even more complicated. Indeed, drawing the line between consensual sex and assault when a complainant …

How to Enjoy Sex Again If You’ve Experienced Sexual Assault

Up to 94% of sexual assault survivors experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.  By Amanda MacMillan Surviving a sexual assault, no matter what the circumstances were or how long ago it happened, can change the way you experience sex. For some, sexual contact can trigger upsetting memories or physical reactions, or leave them feeling sad or …

University of Minnesota study finds frequent distress over sexual impulses

By Jeremy Olson Distress over controlling sexual urges and impulses is a more common problem than previously thought — for both men and women — and could be interfering with the jobs, relationships and happiness of millions of Americans. That’s the takeaway from a new University of Minnesota study, which examined responses to a national …

Time to stop being coy about sex – and give young people the truth

The government’s draft curriculum on sex education falls short on LGBT experiences, sexual violence and pornography By Lola Okolosie I had just turned 11 when Salt-N-Pepa released a track that made my ears burn on first hearing: “Let’s talk about sex baby. Let’s talk about you and me. Let’s talk about all the good things …